Stretched insurers hit back at new EU stress test plans March 24, 2011 THE insurance industry voiced concern yesterday at European regulators’ plans to run a new series of “stress tests” on more than 200 companies across the region. The second round of tests to check how well-capitalised insurers are against different risks was launched by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority on Tuesday. The new tests [...]
Reforms cut £350m of red tape on firms March 23, 2011 A RAFT of micro reforms to planning laws and business regulation were introduced in the Budget to boost growth in UK enterprise yesterday. Key supply-side reforms included sweeping changes to planning laws, to wave through applications for sustainable development and tear up nationally-imposed targets on the use of brownfield land. “We will introduce a new [...]
KNEES UP AT TREASURY IF GEORGE HAS A BEER March 22, 2011 AHEAD of today’s Budget, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) is trying to loosen up chancellor George Osborne – and his stance on beer tax – by dropping by the Treasury to hand-deliver a hamper of Britain’s finest beers. With the Budget speech the one day that the chancellor is allowed an on-duty tipple, [...]
Investors drop equities on continued Japan worries March 16, 2011 HEIGHTENED fears about the nuclear crisis in Japan saw investors shun equities yesterday, with falls by heavyweight commodity issues dragging Britain’s top share index lower. Banks were the biggest fallers, however, also under pressure as a downgrade of Portugal’s credit rating by Moody’s further unnerved investors. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 97.05 [...]
Disaster fears batter markets March 16, 2011 Fears of another nuclear explosion in Japan have been compounded by a revival in eurozone debt worries and an upscaling in violence against pro-democracy protesters in the Middle East to leave markets lower again. The FTSE 100 closed down 1.7 per cent at 5,598.23 after a plunge in mid-afternoon caused by EU energy minister Gunther [...]
Eurocrats back new tax on City March 8, 2011 THE European Parliament voted yesterday to slap a Tobin tax on all financial transactions that pass through Europe, in a bid to raise €200bn (£172bn) for EU?spending. The tax would disproportionately hit the City, Europe’s financial capital, at a time when banks are struggling to build up their capital bases. The EU?Parliament said the proposal, [...]
ABI NAMES OTTO THORESEN NEW DIRECTOR-GENERAL March 8, 2011 OTTO Thoresen, the chief executive of Aegon’s UK arm, has been named as the new director-general of the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The trade association for insurance, investment and savings has been overseen by Maggie Craig, ABI’s director for life and savings, since Kerrie Kelly left last summer after just six months in the [...]
Risking the City: the economist who sees no future in political meddling March 7, 2011 LONDON will be… an excellent market for rottweilers, wire mesh and tattooed thugs. Docklands in particular will revert to its 1970s squalor, albeit with some very expensive buildings scattered around… [G]iven the crippling burdens under which British citizens already live, London’s downturn has a fair chance of tipping the economy over into national bankruptcy.” This [...]
City backlash against ECJ insurance rule March 1, 2011 MOTOR insurers and annuity providers attacked a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that banned insurers from using gender to calculate policy prices yesterday. The ruling will mean women no longer pay lower car insurance premiums than men despite male drivers under 21 being twice as likely as young women to have a crash. Annuity [...]
UK bankers flee to Switzerland to avoid taxes February 17, 2011 BRITISH bankers migrating to Switzerland surged by almost a third last year, as its low personal and business taxes lured workers to the alpine territory. A total of 383 British citizens working in banking and financial services moved to Switzerland in 2010 – marking a 28 per cent increase on 2009, according to official figures [...]